Lightweight Polymeric Container Finish

ABSTRACT

A polymeric container including a base, a body, a finish, finish threads, and a tamper lip. The finish threads are at an outer surface of the finish, and are configured to cooperate with closure threads of a closure to secure the closure to the finish. The tamper lip extends from the outer surface of the finish, and is configured to replace the support flange during handling, and to cooperate with a tamper band of the closure. A recess is below the tamper lip. The recess retains the tamper band below the tamper lip when the closure is removed from cooperation with the finish. A gripper ring is between the finish threads and the tamper lip. The gripper ring is configured to cooperate with a gripper for grasping the finish.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/698,310filed Nov. 27, 2019, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 15/955,288 filed Apr. 17, 2019, which is a continuation-in-partof U.S. application Ser. No. 15/763,778 filed on Mar. 27, 2018, whichclaims the benefit and priority of International Application No.PCT/US2017/025399 filed on Mar. 31, 2017, which claims the benefit andpriority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/411,029 filed on Oct.21, 2016. The entire disclosures of these patent applications areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a lightweight finish for polymericstorage containers.

BACKGROUND

This section provides background information related to the presentdisclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.

It is common in the packaging industry to use blow molded polymericcontainers made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene (PP),or polyethylene (PE), as well as any other suitable materials, to storefood and beverage type products, such as spirits, sauces, carbonatedsoda, juice, water, sports drinks, and the like. Most containers have athreaded finish at the opening of the container configured to cooperatewith a threaded closure or cap in order to hermetically seal thecontents inside the container. In the packaging industry, lightweightcontainers are preferred because they are relatively less costly tomanufacture and transport.

While current polymeric containers are suitable for their intended use,they are subject to improvement. The present teachings advantageouslyprovide for improved polymeric containers having a finish portion thatis relatively lighter in weight as compared to current containers. Thecontainers according to the present teachings also advantageouslymaintain proper fitment with a closure to ensure that the fill productremains sealed during distribution of the container until the containeris ultimately opened by the consumer. Further, the containers accordingto the present teaching include features that allow the containers, andpreforms thereof, to be supported in a blow mold during blow molding andbe handled during the filling process without having a standard supportflange.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not acomprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.

The present teachings provide for a polymeric container including abase, a body, a finish, finish threads, and a tamper lip. The finishthreads are at an outer surface of the finish, and are configured tocooperate with closure threads of a closure to secure the closure to thefinish. The tamper lip extends from the outer surface of the finish, andis configured to replace the support flange during handling, and tocooperate with a tamper band of the closure. A recess is below thetamper lip. The recess retains the tamper band below the tamper lip whenthe closure is removed from cooperation with the finish. A gripper ringis between the finish threads and the tamper lip. The gripper ring isconfigured to cooperate with a gripper for grasping the finish.

Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the descriptionprovided herein. The description and specific examples in this summaryare intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended tolimit the scope of the present disclosure.

DRAWINGS

The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only ofselect embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are notintended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to the presentteachings;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a finish portion, and part of a neck portion,of the container of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the finish of the container of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4A illustrates a top surface of the finish of the container of FIG.1 , the top surface including rounded edges in accordance with thepresent teachings;

FIG. 4B illustrates a top surface of the finish of the container of FIG.1 , the top surface including stepped edges in accordance with thepresent teachings;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a closure according to the present teachingsfor closing the container of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the closure of FIG. 5 taken alongline 6-6 of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 illustrates the closure of FIG. 5 secured to a finish portion ofthe container of FIG. 1 in order to close the container;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a preform according to the present teachings,from which the container of FIG. 1 can be blow molded;

FIG. 9 is a side view of another finish according to the presentteachings;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the finish of FIG. 9 with theclosure of FIGS. 5 and 6 coupled thereto;

FIG. 11 illustrates another container according to the presentdisclosure, the container not including an elongated neck portion;

FIG. 12 is a side view of another finish in accordance with the presentteachings;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the finish of FIG. 12 and a gripper forgripping and maneuvering a preform including the finish; and

FIG. 14 sets forth a method for maneuvering and supporting the performincluding the finish of FIG. 12 during blow molding.

Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views of the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

With initial reference to FIG. 1 , a container according to the presentteachings is generally illustrated at reference numeral 10. Thecontainer 10 can be made of any suitable material, such as any suitablepolymeric material including polyethylene terephthalate (PET),polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE). The container 10 generallyincludes a body 12, a base 14, a shoulder 16, a neck 18, and a finish20. The neck 18 is optional, and thus in some applications the finish 20may be adjacent to the shoulder 16, as illustrated in FIG. 11 forexample. The body 12 is between the base 14 and the shoulder 16. Thebase 14 can be any suitable container base configured to support thecontainer 10 upright on a flat surface. The shoulder 16 extends from thebody 12 to the neck 18. The neck 18 extends from the shoulder 16 to thefinish 20, and thus the neck 18 is between the shoulder 16 and thefinish 20. The neck 18 can have any suitable diameter D_(N) (see FIG. 2) measured generally where the neck 18 transitions to the finish 20. Oneobject of the invention is the diameter D_(N) can be the same as, orsimilar to, an outer diameter Dc of closure 60 (see FIGS. 5 and 7 ),which provides a smooth aesthetic transition from the closure 60 to theneck 18 of the finish 20. This is advantageous to provide a premium lookto the customer.

The container 10 can be configured to store any suitable producttherein, such as spirits (liquor), alcohol, carbonated soda, juice,water, sports drinks, and any suitable type of food stuffs, such assauces. The container 10 can have any suitable shape and size. Forexample, the body 12, base 14, and shoulder 16, can have a generallyoblong shape as illustrated. The neck 18 can be generally circular oroblong as well. The finish 20 is generally circular. The container 10may have any other suitable shape in addition to that which isillustrated. For example, the body 12, the base 14, the shoulder 16, andthe neck 18 can each be round, or generally round.

The finish 20 defines an opening 22 of the container 10. The opening 22provides access to an internal volume 24 of the container 10. Theinternal volume 24 can have any suitable capacity, such as 500 ml orless than 500 ml, or greater than 500 ml such as 1 liter or 1.5 liters.The container 10 may be filled with any suitable product through theopening 22, and any product stored within the container 10 may bedispensed through the opening 22. The opening 22 provides access to theinternal volume 24. A longitudinal access A of the container 10 extendsthrough a radial center of the opening 22, and through a center of eachof the neck 18, the shoulder 16, the body 12, and the base 14.

A top surface 30 of the finish 20 extends around the opening 22, anddefines the opening 22 at a top end of the container 10. The top surface30 may be smooth, or include any suitable surface features configured toreduce the weight of the finish 20, as further explained herein andillustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The finish 20 includes finish threads 32at an outer surface 34 of the finish 20. In the example illustrated, thethreads 32 extend outward from the outer surface 34, but in someconfigurations the threads 32 may be recessed within the outer surface34. The outer surface 34 is opposite to an inner surface 36 (FIG. 3 ) ofthe finish 20. The threads 32 are configured to cooperate with closurethreads of any suitable closure, such as the threads 70 of the closure60 of FIGS. 5 and 6 described herein.

With reference to FIG. 2 , the finish threads 32 can have any suitableheight H_(T), such as less than 0.04 inches. The finish threads 32 canhave any suitable width W_(T) measured from the outer surface 34. Forexample, the threads 32 can have a width W_(T) of less than 0.025inches. The finish 20 has a finish height H_(F), which extends from thetop surface 30 to generally where the finish 20 and neck 18 meet. Thefinish height H_(F) can be any suitable height, such as between 0.54inches to 0.80 inches.

The finish 20 further includes a tamper lip 40. Another object of theinvention is the tamper lip 40 is the only feature generally locatedbetween the threads 32 and the neck 18. The tamper lip 40 is generallycircular and extends outward from the outer surface 34 of the finish 20.The tamper lip 40 is configured to engage a tamper tab of any suitableclosure for the container 10, such as the tamper tab 72 of the tamperband 64 of the closure 60 illustrated in FIG. 6 . The tamper lip 40 canhave any suitable height HL measured generally parallel to thelongitudinal axis A. For example, the tamper lip 40 can have a height HLof less than 0.06 inches. The tamper lip 40 can have any suitable widthmeasured from the outer surface 34. For example, the tamper lip 40 canhave a width WL of less than 0.025 inches.

The tamper lip 40 can have a generally rounded upper surface 42, and agenerally planar lower surface 44. The rounded upper surface 42 extendsfrom the outer surface 34 outward and down to the lower surface 44. Thelower surface 44 extends inward from the rounded upper surface 42 backto the outer surface 34. The tamper lip 40 is advantageously configuredsuch that during blow molding the tamper lip 40 can be engaged tosupport a preform, such as preform 110 of FIG. 8 , for the container 10in a mold or a blow mold striker plate, on the infeed rails of a blowmolding machine, and on a star wheel assembly, thereby eliminating theneed for a separate support flange (not shown), which advantageouslyreduces the weight and height of the finish 20 and container 10. Byreducing the height of the finish 20, many suitable adjustments can bemade to the blow molding equipment, such as reducing the height ofspindles that transfer the preform 110 through a blow mold oven, andadjusting blow mold heating lamp positions within the blow mold oven.

Between the tamper lip 40 and the threads 32 is a gripper groove 50. Thegripper groove 50 provides an area of the finish 20 that is particularlysuitable for engagement by any suitable infeed and outfeed gripping orcoupling device for moving the container 10/preform 110 as the container10 is being formed. The gripping or coupling device can also engage thecontainer 10 below the tamper lip 40. The gripping or coupling devicecan also engage the container 10 at the gripper groove 50 and below thetamper lip 40 simultaneously.

Below the tamper lip 40 is a tamper band recess 52. The tamper bandrecess 52 can be formed by injection molding as part of the containerpreform 110, or formed as a blow molded feature in the container 10.

With reference to FIG. 3 , the finish 20 can have any suitable diameterfor accepting industry standard closures, such as 18 mm, 22 mm, 26 mm,28 mm, 33 mm, 38 mm, or 43 mm. Specifically, for example, the outersurface 34 of the finish 20 can have any suitable maximum outer diameterDo, such as less than 25 mm or greater than 30 mm. The inner surface 36of the finish 20 can have any suitable maximum inner diameter D_(I),such as less than 22 mm. The finish 20 can have any suitable thicknessor width T_(F) between the outer surface 34 and the inner surface 36.For example, the thickness T_(F) of the finish 20 as measured betweenthe outer surface 34 and the inner surface 36 can be less than 0.045inches.

The finish 20 advantageously allows the finish weight to be less thanthe finish weight of current containers. For example, the finish 20 mayhave the following finish weights for the following finish heights andstandard finish sizes as recognized by the International Society ofBeverage Technologists (ISBT).

Standard ISBT Finish Size Finish Height* Finish Weight <26 mm <6 mm <2 g26 mm <7 mm <2.5 g 28 mm <10 mm <3 g 33 mm <12 mm <3.5 g 38 mm <13 mm<4.5 g 43 mm <14 mm <5.5 g *Measured from top surface 30 of finish 20 tolower surface 44 of tamper lip 40.

With reference to FIG. 4A, inner and outer edges of the top surface 30can be removed at the outer and inner surfaces 34 and 36 to provide thetop surface 30 with generally rounded edges 54. Due to the roundededges, the finish 20 has less material, and is thus advantageouslylighter. As illustrated in FIG. 4B, the edges 54 need not be rounded,but can rather be stepped to provide stepped edges 56, whichadvantageously also reduces the weight of the finish 20. Othercombinations of steps and rounded edges to make the finish 20 lighterwill be apparent to those skilled in the art.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 , the closure 60 will now be describedin further detail. The closure 60 generally includes a main body 62, anda frangible tamper band 64, which is connected to the main body 62 atperforated area/ring 66. A tamper tab 72 extends from the frangibletamper band 64 inward into the closure 60. The tamper tab 72 is sizedand shaped to pass over the tamper lip 40 of the container finish 20when the closure 60 is being secured to the finish 20, such as throughcooperation between threads 70 of the closure 60 and the threads 32 ofthe finish 20. The tamper tab 72 slides over the rounded upper surface42 of the tamper lip 40 as the closure 60 is being screwed onto thefinish 20. After the tamper tab 72 has passed over the rounded uppersurface 42, the tamper tab 72 will flex inward towards the longitudinalaxis A and abut the lower surface 44 of the tamper lip 40. There must beclearance between the bottom surface of the tamper band 64 and the neck18 so that the neck 18 does not interfere with applying and tighteningthe closure 60. When the closure 60 is unscrewed and removed from thefinish 20, the tamper tab 72 will remain under the tamper lip 40 and themain body 62 will separate from the frangible tamper band 64 at theperforated ring 66. The tamper band 64 is prevented from dropping to fardown the neck 18 or the shoulder 16 by the tamper band recess 52, andthe tamper band 64 is retained below the tamper lip 40 and above theneck 18 or shoulder 16. With current containers, the tamper band isinstead retained by a support flange, which the finish 20 advantageouslydoes not include. Separation of the main body 62 from the frangibletamper band 64 advantageously provides a visual indication that theclosure 60 has been removed from the finish 20. FIG. 7 illustrates theclosure 60 secured to the finish 20 of the container 10. The overallclosure height Hc can be any suitable height, such as between 0.54inches to 0.80 inches, or less than 0.54 inches on containers with adiameter less than 28 mm. FIG. 11 illustrates the closure 60 (or ashorter version thereof) secured to the finish 20 of another container10′ in accordance with the present disclosure, which does not includethe elongated neck 18.

The container 10 can be manufactured in any suitable manner. Forexample, the container 10 can be blow molded from any suitable preform,such as the preform 110 of FIG. 8 . The preform 110 itself can be formedin any suitable manner, such as by injection molding. The preform 110includes the finish 20, which defines the opening 22 and includes thethreads 32 and the tamper lip 40. Extending from the finish 20 is a neckportion 112, a body portion 116, and a base portion 118. After injectionblow molding of the preform 110, the neck portion 112 forms the neck 18,the shoulder portion 114 forms the shoulder 16, the body portion 116forms the body 12, and the base portion 118 forms the base 14.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 , an additional finish 20′ inaccordance with the present teachings is illustrated. The finish 20′ issimilar to the finish 20, except for the following differences whichmake the finish 20′ advantageously lighter. Specifically, threads 32′are shorter than the threads 32 in that each one of the threads 32′ makeonly one complete turn around the finish 20′. This is in contrast to thethreads 32, which each make 1.5 turns around the finish 20. By makingthe threads 32′ shorter, the threads 32′ can be moved upward closer tothe top surface 30′, and gripper groove 50′ can be made taller.Specifically, the gripper groove 50′ extends further along a directionparallel to the longitudinal access A, as compared to the gripper groove50. The gripper groove 50′ can be more easily engaged by a suitablegripping or coupling device for moving the finish 20′ duringmanufacturing.

With particular reference to FIG. 10 the finish 20′ has a thickness FTthat is thinner than the finish thickness FT of the finish 20. Thefinish thickness FT of the finish 20′ is generally 0.015 inches thinnerthan the finish thickness FT of the finish 20, which makes the finish20′ about 0.648 grams lighter than the finish 20 (when the container 10is made of PET). Making the finish 20′ thinner and lighteradvantageously reduces the manufacturing and shipping cost of thecontainer 10. Because the finish 20′ has a finish thickness FT that isthinner than the finish thickness FT of the finish 20, a crush bead 74of the closure 60 will be arranged closer to the inside diameter of thefinish 20′ as compared to the finish 20 when the closure 60 is securedto the respective finishes 20/20′.

The finish thickness FT of the finish 20 can be 3.94 mm, or about 3.94mm. The gripper groove 50 can have a height of 0.71 mm, or about 0.71mm. The finish thickness FT of the finish 20′ can have a thickness of3.14 mm, or about 3.14 mm. The height of the gripper groove 50′ can be2.3 mm, or about 2.3 mm.

The present teachings advantageously provide for reducing the weight ofthe finish 20, as well as the height of the finish 20, to provide thecontainer 10 with a height to center of gravity ratio that is greaterthan 0.025, or less than 0.499. The finish 20 can have any suitableweight, such as greater than 2.3 grams, or less than 2.5 grams. Thefinish 20 according to the present teachings has a weight that isadvantageously about 35% less than, to about 44% less than, the weightof an industry standard finish for accepting the same size of closure.

FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrate another finish in accordance with the presentdisclosure at reference numeral 20″. The finish 20″ can be the finish ofany suitable preform for forming any suitable container. For example,the preform 110 may include the finish 20″ in place of the finish 20,and the containers 10, 110 may include the finish 20″ in place of thefinish 20 and the finish 20′ respectively.

The finish 20″ includes numerous features similar to, or the same as,the finish 20. The similar features are designated in FIGS. 12 and 13using the same reference numerals, but with a double prime (″)designation. The description of these similar features set forth abovein the description of the finish 20 also applies to the finish 20″.Specifically, the description set forth above of the threads 32, theouter surface 34, and the tamper lip 40 (including the rounded uppersurface 42 and the lower surface 44) of the finish 20 also applies tothe threads 32″, the outer surface 34″, and the tamper lip 40″(including the rounded upper surface 42″ and the lower surface 44″) ofthe finish 20″.

Unlike the finish 20 and the finish 20′, in place of the gripper groove50 the finish 20″ includes a gripper ring 80 between the threads 32″ andthe tamper lip 40″. The gripper ring 80 extends entirely around thefinish 20″. The gripper ring 80 protrudes outward from the outer surface34″ such that an outermost portion of the gripper ring 80 is furtherfrom the longitudinal axis A (and a radial center of the finish 20″)than the outer surface 34″. Between the gripper ring 80 and the threads32″ is an upper portion 34A″ of the outer surface 34″, and between thegripper ring 80 and the tamper lip 40″ is a lower portion 34B″ of theouter surface 34″. The upper portion 34A″ and the lower portion 34B″ ofthe outer surface 34″ are equidistant from the longitudinal axis A, andthe gripper ring 80 is further from the longitudinal axis A than eachone of the upper portion 34A″ and the lower portion 34B″ of the outersurface 34″.

The gripper ring 80 is sized and shaped to cooperate with any suitablepositioning tool for moving and positioning any suitable preformincluding the finish 20″, such as the preform 110 for example. Anexample of such a suitable positioning tool is the gripper 210. Thegripper 210 includes a curved edge 212, which is sized and shaped tocooperate with about one half of the lower portion 34B″ of the outersurface 34″ and an undersurface of the gripper ring 80.

During the blow molding process, the finish 20″ is engaged at the tamperlip 40″ and/or gripper ring 80 to move and support the preform that thefinish 20″ is included with, such as the preform 110 for example. FIG.14 sets forth a method 510 for moving and/or supporting the finish 20″at various exemplary stages of the blow molding process. For example, atblock 512 the preform 110 is supported on a molding machine in-feed railthrough cooperation between the tamper lip 40″ and the in-feed rail. Atbock 514, the preform 110 is moved to a molding machine star wheel,where the preform 110 is supported through cooperation between thetamper lip 40″ and the star wheel. At block 516, the preform 110 ispicked up by spindles, and at block 518 the preform 110 is transportedthrough a heating oven. At block 520, the gripper 210 grasps the preform110 through cooperation between the curved edge 212 and gripper ring 80,and the gripper 210 moves the preform 110 out of the oven and into ablow mold of any suitable container, such as the container 10 or thecontainer 10′. Specifically, the curved edge 212 contacts the lowerportion 34B″ of the outer surface 34″ and an undersurface of the gripperring 80.

At block 522, the preform is supported in the blow mold by the tamperlip 40″ during blow molding. At block 524, the blown container 10 (orthe container 10′ or any other suitable container) is again grasped bythe gripper through cooperation between the curved edge 212 and thegripper ring 80, and the gripper 210 moves the preform 110 out fromwithin the blow mold. At block 526, the container 10 is supported by anoutfeed rail through cooperation between the tamper lip 40″ and theoutfeed rail. At block 528, the container 10 is supported on a conveyorthrough cooperation between the tamper lip 40″ and the conveyor, and thecontainer 10 is transported to any suitable location, such as a fillingor packing station.

The finish 20″ thus advantageously includes the threads 32″ and thetamper lip 40″ without a dedicated support flange. Therefore, the tamperlip 40″ serves a dual purpose. A first purpose of the tamper lip 40″ isto cooperate with the tamper tab 72 of the closure 60 such that when theclosure is removed the tamper tab 72 is separated from the closure 60and retained on the finish 20″ by the tamper lip 40″ to indicate thatthe container 10 has been opened. Another purpose of the tamper lip 40″is to provide support for the preform 110 at specific points duringmanufacturing, such as at least at blocks 512, 514, 522, 526, and 528.The gripper ring 80 advantageously allows the finish 20″ to be grippedat specific points during manufacturing as well through cooperationbetween the curved edge 212 and both the lower portion 34B″ of the outersurface 34″ and an undersurface of the gripper ring 80, such as at leastat blocks 520 and 524. One skilled in the art will appreciate that thepresent disclosure provides numerous other advantages and unexpectedresults as well.

The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or featuresof a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particularembodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be usedin a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described.The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to beregarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modificationsare intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.

Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will bethorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples ofspecific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thoroughunderstanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will beapparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not beemployed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many differentforms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of thedisclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes,well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are notdescribed in detail.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularexample embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As usedherein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and“having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, butdo not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features,integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groupsthereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described hereinare not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance inthe particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specificallyidentified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood thatadditional or alternative steps may be employed.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,”“connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may bedirectly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element orlayer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast,when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engagedto,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another elementor layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Otherwords used to describe the relationship between elements should beinterpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directlybetween,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein,the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more ofthe associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein todescribe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections,these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should notbe limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguishone element, component, region, layer or section from another region,layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numericalterms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearlyindicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region,layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element,component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachingsof the example embodiments.

Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,”“lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease ofdescription to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatiallyrelative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations ofthe device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depictedin the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turnedover, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements orfeatures would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features.Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation ofabove and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptorsused herein interpreted accordingly.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for maneuvering and supporting acontainer and a preform from which the container is blow molded before,during, and after blow molding, the method comprising: supporting thepreform and the container on a surface by positioning on the surface atamper lip of a finish of the preform and the container; and graspingthe finish with a gripper through cooperation between the gripper and agripper ring of the finish, the gripper ring between threads of thefinish and the tamper lip of the finish.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein grasping the finish includes grasping an undersurface of thegripper ring.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the gripper ring isbetween an upper portion of the outer surface of the finish and a lowerportion of the outer surface of the finish.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the upper portion of the outer surface and the lower portion ofthe outer surface of the finish are equidistant from a radial center ofthe finish.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein an outermost portion ofthe gripper ring is further from the radial center of the finish thaneach of the upper portion and the lower portion of the outer surface ofthe finish.